Architect Andrew Hicks, left, of Architecture Works and Robert McElroy, senior project manager at Brasfield & Gorrie, stand on scaffolding that puts them at the top of the sanctuary of Independent Presbyterian Church. (The Birmingham News / Tamika Moore)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A $1.8 million interior renovation at Southside's Independent Presbyterian Church has moved worship services out of the sanctuary and into a fellowship hall, prompting the church to plan its Easter service for the Alabama Theatre.

"We're putting in a new ceiling," said Libby Kidd, director of operations and administration at the 2,300-member Independent Presbyterian. "It's an aging building."

The historic 1926 sanctuary is filled from floor to ceiling with scaffolding, with all the pews moved to storage.

The work is not related to the fire that destroyed several adjacent buildings at the church on April 8, 1992, although that fire sent smoke into the sanctuary that did not help the troubled ceiling.

Workers have removed a substance called Celotex that was installed on the ceiling of the sanctuary in the 1920s. The old organ has been removed and the space is being prepared for the installation of a new organ in the fall. Celotex, made of sugar cane fibers, was one of the first acoustic deadening substances, said architect Andrew Hicks, of Architecture Works. "It has slowly been deteriorating," he said.

The Celotex has been removed from between the oak beams and replaced by oak ceiling panels better suited for organ music, Hicks said. "It should provide better acoustics for the sanctuary," said Hicks, a member of Independent Presbyterian who sings in the choir. Recessed lighting in the ceiling will be replaced by an updated lighting system including theatrical projectors, he said.

The renovation work started in January and should be complete by the end of August, he said. Worship services are expected to return to the sanctuary in September, and should not be disrupted by the installation of the organ, Hicks said.

During the construction, worship services have been moved to the Great Hall, which can hold 450 people, compared to 600 in the sanctuary, Kidd said. An extra Sunday morning service was added. Services are at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Closed-circuit broadcasts of the services can be viewed in the church parlor, which has been used as an overflow room, Kidd said.

To accommodate expected large attendance on Easter Sunday, a service will be held on April 24 in the Alabama Theatre, Kidd said.

Independent Presbyterian Church was founded in 1915, and during its first seven years held services at Temple Emanu-El, and at several downtown Birmingham theaters -- the Strand, the Odeon Two and the Lyric Theatre.